Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow and Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), John Brady, has condemned government spending of €1.3m on security in 2025 at the unused River Lodge international protection accommodation (IPAS) site in Newtownmountkennedy, describing it as an extraordinary waste of public money.

The figures were provided to the PAC following queries submitted by Brady, who urged ministers to halt all spending at the site and transfer it for community use.

According to data supplied to the PAC, more than €2.8m was spent at River Lodge in 2024 on site establishment and maintenance, accommodation and services, security and fuel. The site stopped being used for emergency accommodation in December 2024 after adverse weather made the tented structures unviable and residents were relocated. Despite remaining vacant, spending continued in 2025, with over €1.4m recorded for the year, including €1.3m on security. Brady said the Department has deemed the site unsuitable for accommodation and has no plan for it, yet costs are still being incurred. He has launched a petition calling for the site to be handed over for community purposes.

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Teachta Brady said: "This is yet another extraordinary example of public money wasted by this Government.

"The newly released figures show a staggering level of spending on the site in both 2024 and 2025.

"In 2024, over €2.8m was spent across a range of areas, including site establishment and maintenance, accommodation and services, security and fuel.

"River Lodge ultimately ceased being used as emergency accommodation in December 2024 after adverse weather conditions made the tented structures unviable, and all residents were relocated.

"Incredibly, spending has continued apace at the vacant site, with figures showing a spend of over €1.4m in 2025.

"€1.3m of this was spent on security for a completely empty site.

"A site that the Department has said is unsuitable for accommodation purposes and that they have absolutely no plan for moving forward, all the while, money goes down the drain every single day on security and other costs.

"This level of waste is a kick in the teeth to the local community in Newtownmountkennedy and ordinary citizens who are at breaking point because of the government’s failure to tackle the cost of living crisis. Newtown is a town that is crying out for investment and improved community facilities, so to see money being wasted in such a manner is totally unacceptable.

"The Minister must now commit to ending all expenditure on this site immediately and handing it over for community use.

"This project has been a sorry saga of mismanagement from the outset, despite repeated warnings about the unsuitability of the site and despite strong concerns from the local community, the Department pushed ahead over the heads of local representatives and residents, with a plan that was never going to work.

"This waste has gone on long enough and it now needs to be brought to an end. I have set up a petition calling on the government to hand the site over to the community so it can be used for community purposes.

"There are real and pressing community needs in Newtownmountkennedy. River Lodge at Trudder, must be returned to the community, and the continuous waste of taxpayers’ money must stop."